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Sword
of Kings: Tested By Adversity

Qaim
awoke long before Kieren the following morning, but he continued to
lie quietly on the rug and waited for his young master to awaken.
Before long, the teenager began to stir and slowly rubbed the sleep
from his eyes. Then, Kieren began to stretch every muscle in
his body, in an unconscious attempt to get the blood circulating
again. Kieren hadn’t quite finished his morning ritual
when there was a knock on the door. Responding to it, he slid
out of bed so he could see who was there. Qaim stood up too and
moved over beside Kieren, as the teen opened the door.

Kieren
soon discovered there was a servant on the other side of the portal.
The dwarf had been sent to assist him. Kieren instantly eyed
the individual and decided he looked to be quite young for such a
position, at least much younger than Kieren would have expected.
Kieren didn’t have long to ponder this point though, because
the young dwarf advised him that another attendant was waiting to
help Qaim. That dwarf, however, was in the room the aignx had
been assigned. The problem was, Qaim wasn’t eager to go
there. After a little coaxing from Kieren, along with the
promise of food if he did what he was asked, Qaim reluctantly
returned to his own chamber.

Once he
was alone with the young valet, Kieren quickly looked him over.
Kieren thought he appeared to be about twelve, possibly
thirteen-years old, but he couldn’t tell for certain. At
the same time, the young dwarf stood eyeing Kieren too, before he
eventually spoke,

“I
was told to advise you that you are requested to dine with King
Brolin in an hour. Would you like me to prepare a bath for you
first?”

“Yes,
please. That would be very nice and I would greatly appreciate
it,” Kieren responded, so the lad turned around and left the
room.

A little
while later, the young dwarf came back lugging buckets of water to
fill Kieren’s tub. As he observed the young dwarf going
back and forth carrying the freshly filled buckets to the room and
then taking the empty ones out again, Kieren started thinking the boy
appeared to be far too young to be doing such hard physical labor.
Kieren couldn’t understand why such a young dwarf would have to
perform a job such as this and felt the lad should be out playing
somewhere instead. In fact, Kieren felt that if he had known
the boy would be doing such arduous labor when he first asked if he
wanted a bath, Kieren might have refused. He thought the boy
was going to have others fill the tub, or else Kieren would have
chosen to bypass this luxury, just so the boy wouldn’t have to
struggle carrying out such a demanding task.

Regardless
of what Kieren thought about his abilities or age, the young dwarf
pressed on with his duties. He continually moved in and out of
the room as he fetched the many buckets of water, both hot and cold,
that were needed to fill the tub. Even though just watching how
hard this boy labored troubled him, Kieren was still guiltily looking
forward to enjoying this small treat. It was due, at least in
part, to the fact that he realized it might be quite some time before
he would be able to enjoy this simple pleasure again.

Kieren
began to undress when the young dwarf was bringing in the final
buckets of hot water to warm the bath to the correct temperature.
As the boy emptied the last container into the tub, Kieren stepped in
and gradually lowered himself downward, into its relaxing embrace.
The young dwarf stood by the head of the tub and waited to see what
Kieren wanted him to do next, but Kieren never said a word.
After standing patiently like this for a few minutes, the boy finally
spoke up.

“Would
you like me to do anything else for you, sir?”

Kieren
was somewhat surprised and uncomfortable with the boy calling him
‘sir’.

“My
name is Kieren,” he told the young dwarf. “I’d
prefer it if you would please use my name and stop calling me sir.
When you do that, it makes me feel like an old person.”

The
youngster looked totally shocked that Kieren had even suggested
this. It totally went against his training.

“I
can’t, sir. That wouldn’t be right!” the
dwarf answered.

While
speaking to Kieren, the young dwarf was also careful to keep his eyes
averted from Kieren’s intense gaze. Seeing this, Kieren
sensed the dwarf had been instructed to avoid eye contact with those
he was serving. The young dwarf had apparently been trained
that it would be impolite to look those higher in the social order
directly in the eye. Although Kieren didn’t feel this was
the case between them, he concluded the lad was thinking that such
liberties should only be taken with one’s peers. With
that in mind, Kieren decided to address the problem before it grew
worse.

“What’s
your name?” Kieren asked next.

This
caused the boy to immediately look up. When he did, Kieren
could see the startled expression showing on his face. After a
brief hesitation, he thought about the request and finally
responded.

“My
name is Hoby, sir,” he answered, “although most visitors
just call me boy.”

“Hoby,
let’s just pretend we’re friends. Would that be all
right with you?” Kieren suggested.

“But
that is not allowed, sir. I have to remember my place.
I’ve been told that many times,” he stated, rather
sheepishly.

The young
dwarf was trembling slightly and looked terrified, as if he was
expecting a reprisal of some sort for even having this conversation.
Noticing this, it bothered Kieren that the lad was reacting in this
manner, so he felt he should take the opportunity to reassure him.

“Well,
you can do that when you take care of others who visit here, but I
would prefer it if we could just be friends,” Kieren replied.
“I also promise I won’t tell anyone, so you won’t
get into any trouble.”

Hoby
thought briefly about what Kieren had just said and then released a
weak smile. This let Kieren know he was about to give in.

“You
are much nicer than most of the visitors I have to help sir, I mean
Kieren,” Hoby answered, while flashing a slight grin.

Hoby’s
smile was becoming more natural and more pronounced as each second
passed. Kieren appreciated this change in his demeanor and took
it as a compliment. He also noted the sincerity with which
Hoby's simple comment and gesture had been offered.

“Would
you like for me to wash your back now, si… Kieren?” Hoby
followed.

“Is
it part of your job?” Kieren asked his new friend. “Are
you expected to wash my back?”

“Yes,
Kieren. It is part of my job. Would you like me to do
that for you now?” Hoby wondered.

“No
one offered to do anything like that for me last night when we first
arrived here,” Kieren stated, mildly bewildered by this minor
difference.

“I
believe it was because the boys assigned to you then where chosen at
the last minute,” Hoby explained. “You had arrived
much later than anyone expected, so those they were able to get to
serve you on such short notice had not yet been instructed on how to
carry out all of the duties of their position. I am fully
trained though and would be more than happy to do this for you.”

Kieren
was still a little uncomfortable about allowing Hoby to perform this
minor task, but it wasn’t because he had a problem with the
young dwarf helping him. What troubled Kieren was that he felt
it would be demeaning for the boy to have to do this, even though it
seemed to be something Hoby was eager to do.

“Ahhh,
well I think I’ll, uh, be able to manage on my own,”
Kieren replied, while trying to think of a way to change the topic,
so the dwarf’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

“How
old are you, Hoby?” Kieren asked, immediately afterward.

“I
am in my eleventh summer, Kieren,” the dwarf announced.

Hoby’s
answer bothered Kieren even more. He had assumed the boy looked
older than this, so it merely added to the sympathy Kieren was
feeling for him. It also increased Kieren’s sense of
remorse that the young dwarf was forced to endure such a hard life.

“Hoby,
how long have you been doing this?” Kieren asked next.

“For
over a year now, Kieren,” the youngster told him, which caused
a new wave of compassion to sweep over Kieren.

“Why
do you have to work?” Kieren pressed. “You should
be out playing and having fun, not taking care of the desires of
others.”

“My
family needs the extra money, so I had to find a job,” the
young dwarf explained. “I have to help pay for some of
the things my brothers, sisters and I require.”

Kieren
wondered what types of things he meant, but decided not to pry
further into Hoby’s personal business. Kieren certainly
didn’t want to possibly embarrass the lad by asking more about
the reasons he had to work. Instead, he changed the subject.

“How
many brothers and sisters do you have, Hoby?” Kieren wondered.

“I
have five older and seven younger than myself,” Hoby replied.

This
response amazed Kieren even more. Since he was an only child
and none of the elfin families he knew had more than five or six
children in total, he couldn’t imagine anyone having such a
large family. Yet, here was a dwarf who claimed his parents had
more than a dozen offspring.

“Wow!
That’s quite a lot of siblings,” Kieren observed.

“Yes,
it is,” Hoby agreed. “People say my mother is lucky
to be so fertile. Two of my mother’s friends have not
been able to have any babies, so they come over and help her take
care of the younger ones. They say it helps them cope with
being unable to bear their own children.”

Kieren
immediately thought it was nice that Hoby’s mother had friends
who would help her take care of her large brood.

“Do
your other brothers and sisters have to work too?” Kieren
asked, hoping the lad wouldn’t take offense.

“Yes,
si… Kieren, they do,” Hoby confirmed, after he’d
almost slipped and called Kieren sir again. “I have three
older brothers and two older sisters who work as well, and my next
younger brother will be starting his job soon.”

“So,
all of your brothers and sisters have to work?” Kieren
attempted to clarify.

“Just
those of us that are old enough, Kieren,” Hoby explained.
“We’ve all taken jobs because it would be best if we
did. Otherwise, our mother and father would have to struggle
and work very hard to make enough money so we’d all have food,
clothes and other things we need. Since my mother is with child
so often, she isn’t able to work the harder jobs that pay
more.”

“Well,
Hoby, maybe it won’t always be this way,” the teen
offered, hopefully.

“How
will it change, Kieren? There are just too many of us for my
parents to provide for.”

Hoby
looked down at the floor after saying this, almost as if he was
embarrassed about being part of such a large brood.

“Well,
maybe your father will come into some money,” Kieren suggested.

“I’m
afraid there is no way something like that could happen for us,”
the dwarf responded, sounding dejected.

“Maybe
a benefactor will come to your rescue,” Kieren hinted, in an
attempt to give the boy some hope. “He might provide
enough money so you and your siblings will not have to work any
longer.”

“I
doubt that, sir, but it would be a nice dream,” Hoby agreed.

Hoby
seemed to be momentarily lost in his thoughts as he considered this
possibility, but then his expression suddenly changed again. In
the interim, he had concluded that it was silly to even think about
something like that happening, because there was no one who would
want to help them in such a way.

About
this time, Kieren finished bathing, because the water was beginning
to cool down. Cautiously, he rose up and stepped out of the
tub. When he did this, Hoby took a towel and started to dry him
off. Kieren started to pull away, but Hoby flashed him a very
hurt look. Seeing this, Kieren opted to let the lad continue.
It seemed performing this task didn’t bother the young dwarf,
but he was obviously troubled when he thought Kieren wasn’t
going to let him continue.

“I
have laid out your garments on the bed for you,” Hoby advised
him, while continuing his job and changing the subject. “I
was told it is what you should wear today,” he added, while
pointing at the pile of garments.

“Thank
you for your help,” Kieren told him, while looking over what he
was to wear.

To
Kieren's surprise, it was the sturdy traveling clothes he had worn
previously that were lying on the bed, rather than the light, silky
attire of the previous evening. They had been cleaned and any
rips mended before they had been returned to him.

“You’re
welcome, Kieren,” the young dwarf responded.

Hoby’s
comment broke Kieren’s train of thought about the clothing, so
he quickly refocused on the young dwarf.

“You
are very nice and I’m glad I met you,” Hoby stated, as he
started to leave the room. However, before he made it out the
door, he turned to face Kieren again.

“I
almost forgot to tell you something,” Hoby apologized. “I
was advised to inform you that you are to wait here and one of the
king’s staff will arrive for you shortly. Fare-thee-well,
Kieren, and have a safe journey.”

Hoby
smiled, waved shyly and then started out the door again.

“May
the gods watch over you too, Hoby, my new friend,” Kieren bid
him in return.

Hearing
this, Hoby turned back and smiled once more, before he disappeared
from sight.

Kieren
smiled and quickly got dressed as soon as the door closed.

Within a
short time there was another knock on his door and Kieren opened it
to find a well-dressed, middle-aged dwarf. This person asked
the young man to follow him, which Kieren did without question.
Kieren was right on the dwarf’s heels as they started out the
door, but he gave a little ground when they stopped to collect Qaim.
The aignx was happy to see his protector again and quickly moved to
stand beside Kieren.

“Yes,
Qaim,” Kieren answered, “I told you I would come for you
and we are going to eat.”

This
caused the aignx to rub his head against Kieren’s arm, the way
a kitten might do to show its affection.

“Come
on, Qaim, we have to get going,” Kieren advised him, as he and
the guide started down the hallway again.

Next,
they stopped outside the doorway of the rooms the two younger elves
had used. Even though they had spent the evening in the same
room, they returned to their own bedchamber this morning in order to
get ready. The dwarf knocked on each of the doors and told them
why he was there, so they came out into the hallway to join the
others and follow him. Kieren was happy to see his friends
again, but they didn’t seem very thrilled that he was there.
Once they saw him, they both shot icy-cold stares in his direction,
before turning away and whispering to each other.

Kieren
had never felt uncomfortable being around this pair before, but the
circumstances had suddenly changed. The way Garreth and Romaric
looked at him now, as well as their body language, oozed their sudden
contempt and dislike. They also continued to talk to each other
in hushed tones and Kieren could only guess about what they were
saying. He was fairly certain that whatever they were
discussing wasn’t good and didn't paint him in a favorable
light.

Kieren
was not alone in eliciting this reaction either, because the elves
glanced at Qaim occasionally as well. They seemed to be
dragging him into this baseless feud as well. Kieren didn’t
understand why his friends were doing this, so for a brief time he
even considered he might be reading too much into their reactions.
That ended, however, when they turned away from him and gave him the
cold shoulder, without ever saying a word. Kieren thought maybe
if he spoke to them, then possibly they would begin to get over this
problem, so he tried to think of something innocuous to begin a
conversation with.

“Did
you sleep well?” Kieren asked his two friends.

Although
he had heard Kieren’s comment, Romaric stayed quiet and
remained facing away from him, but Garreth offered a brief response.

“We
slept fine,” Garreth stated, with a tinge of sarcasm in his
voice, “although I’m not sure why you care.”

Kieren
merely stared at his friends for a moment, before he continued.

“What
is wrong with you?” he wanted to know, confused by their
attitude.

Kieren
continued to study the pair until it finally dawned on him why they
were reacting this way.

“Aren’t
you being a bit childish about this?” Kieren stated, as he
confronted the elves. “I just needed to be alone last
night. It was just for the one night and wasn’t a big
deal.”

Even
though he hadn’t meant it to sound as if their concerns were
unimportant, it was obvious his response was taken that way. It
riled the elves even more.

“Maybe
it wasn’t a big deal to you, because we don’t mean as
much to you any longer,” Romaric spat back, only to be
interrupted by someone else.

“Young
sirs,” the dwarf stated, in an effort to get their attention,
“we need to get going now. If you will, please follow
me.”

The
problem was, the teens paid no attention to the guide or even
acknowledged having heard him. They merely continued on with
their own conversation.

“Oh,
that’s right. You just needed to be alone,” Romaric
added, caustically. "Except you let Qaim stay with you."

The tone
of his friend’s voice caused Kieren to recoil, so he
automatically responded to this perceived affront.

“It
was just that I had promised Qaim he wouldn’t have to be alone,
since he doesn’t trust all of the dwarfs yet,” he
replied, in an equally harsh tone. “Maybe you two should
just grow up and not be so sensitive.”

Even
though he was merely trying to point out how childish they were
acting, he hadn’t intended to offend them, although it was
exactly what he had just done. Now, the two elves were so livid
that they could barely speak. During this momentary pause,
Garreth and Romaric focused on how they wanted to respond to Kieren’s
comment, while continuing to glare at him.

“Maybe
YOU’RE the one who needs to grow up. Maybe you just don’t
understand how we feel, because you’re not a real elf,”
Garreth eventually countered. He also drew a nod of agreement
from Romaric when he did so.

Kieren
was deeply stung by his comment, but fought to hold back the tears he
felt welling up in his eyes. Their attitude reminded him about
all of the teasing he had endured from the other children, before
these two had come into his life. That is probably why it hurt
him even more to know they were turning on him like this too.
His heart was beating faster, and possibly even louder, yet the world
around him seemed to be frozen in time. Nothing seemed to be
moving. He was hurt and wanted to hurt them back. He had
never demanded they spend all of their time with him and didn’t
feel he’d done anything wrong.

“Gentlemen,
the others are waiting for us, since they already left following
another of my countrymen,” their guide stated. He had
taken the temporary silence as his opportunity to try to urge the
boys to follow him. “The king and the others are
waiting for you, so we must be on our way.”

Once
again, no one paid any attention to the dwarf, who was becoming very
frustrated with the teens lack of cooperation.

“Look,
I didn’t mean to offend you last night, but there will be times
when we each need to be alone,” Kieren stated, hoping this
would calm them down.

“And
maybe we should have left you alone in Briarwood too,” Romaric
challenged, defiantly. “I guess you didn’t need us
then either.”

“Look,
I appreciate what you did for me back there,” Kieren offered,
“but you don’t need to watch over me and we don’t
always have to stay together. We can still be close, but you
don’t need to follow me around and be by my side every
minute.”

Once
again, Kieren hadn’t meant this as a criticism or complaint,
but it was obviously how it was taken. The effect was immediate
and devastating, as judged by the looks he saw on Garreth and
Romaric’s faces. He instantly knew the elves had been
offended by what he’d just said, but he couldn’t take it
back. They each needed their own space once in a while, so he
wasn’t about to apologize for pointing it out. Kieren
wanted things to get back to normal, but only after they had
apologized for treating him so unfairly and for so rudely commenting
that he wasn’t even a full-blooded elf.

Garreth
and Romaric merely stared at Kieren for a few moments, as they fought
to deal with his callousness about their feelings. They
continued to glare in his direction, until Garreth decided to turn
his back on Kieren again. He was so mad that he didn’t
even want to look at his former friend any longer. However,
Romaric wasn’t about to give up and surrender so easily.

“Yes,
it’s quite obvious that you think we no longer need to be
together so much. I guess our blood oath didn’t mean as
much to you as it did to us,” the elf challenged, venomously,
as he choked out his words.

This
comment also hurt Kieren deeply, but he wasn’t about to let his
friends see how badly it had wounded him. Fortunately, their
dwarf guide spoke again and this time his comment temporarily broke
their focus on one another.

“Excuse
me, young sirs,” the dwarf began, although more forcefully this
time. “We must get moving. I’m sure the
others have already arrived at the hall and are waiting for you to
join them.”

Kieren
decided to bite his tongue for now, at least where Garreth and
Romaric were concerned, but he knew this disagreement was far from
over.

“Fine,”
he barked at the dwarf instead. “Then let’s get
going.”

He and
the others then followed the dwarf down the corridor, but Kieren
waited and let the others go first and took up the final position in
this procession. Each of them had to scurry, in order to catch
up to their rapidly moving guide, so they were nearly jogging at this
point, as they made their way down a series of corridors. They
kept this up until they reached a small, yet formal dining hall and
went inside. As they entered, Kieren quickly discovered the
warriors were already there, along with the dwarf king, queen and the
wizard. The boys bowed toward Their Majesties and Beraut,
before joining the others at the long table they were seated at.
There were four seats left open for them, so they rapidly moved
toward them and sat down.

Garreth
and Romaric took the two seats on the far side of the table, leaving
Kieren and Qaim the two open seats on the near side. They
continued to avoid looking at their friend and merely talked to each
other in between bites. This was fine with Kieren, so he
decided to ignore them as well, at least for the time being.
The three of them were focused entirely on the meal instead, as an
unbearable tension suddenly hung over the table. Their feud
continued to distract them and made it somewhat difficult for any of
the boys to enjoy his food. They were only about halfway
through their breakfast when Beraut rose to his feet to speak.

“I
know you are probably all curious about what is going to happen
next,” the wizard began. “Therefore, I will give
you a little information concerning this while you are eating and
before we depart this hall. It is imperative we leave Thoroldas
quickly as we can, if there is any hope of you reaching Treblanc
before our forces engage the enemy in battle. However, I think
it is important that you are first made aware of some of the
obstacles you will be facing along the way.”

There was
a collective groan from the teens after the wizard said this, because
they thought about how much they had already gone through.
Then, they began to contemplate about how much more they might have
to endure on the next leg of their mission. As they glanced at
each other after releasing this audible reaction, they immediately
began to refocus on their growing rift instead. This distracted
them from everything else that was going on, including what the
wizard was saying. They were only partially hearing Beraut's
comments, as Garreth and Romaric glared at Kieren. At the same
time, Kieren was keeping track of what they were up to and coyly
watching them out of the corner of his eye.

“Thorold
has long been the home of the dwarves and its ruling family, but it
has not always been the only community of the dwarven people,”
Beraut stated. “There was once a fairly large
agricultural settlement called Thorley, which was located in a
bountiful meadowland called Peaceful Vale. The dwarfs that
lived there, as well as in the farming areas that surrounded it,
produced harvests that met not only the needs of their own people,
but it also supplied enough for other purposes as well. The
dwarfs would use some of the excess to barter for goods made by the
men and elves.”

The
wizard was scanning the faces before him, so he could judge how they
were reacting to this information. When he looked at the three
youths, he was shocked to see they weren’t giving him their
full attention and listening to everything he was saying. After
he scowled at their behavior, he admonished them for their current
actions.

“Kieren,
Garreth and Romaric,” he bellowed, which caused the trio to
respond in unison to the mention of their names. They were also
reacting to the volume in which they had been uttered. “I
think you three would be well advised to pay attention to what I have
to say, rather than sitting there daydreaming.”

The boys
were upset by this public rebuke, but it proved to be quite
effective. Reluctantly, they turned their attention to the
wizard and temporarily forgot about each other.

“As
I was saying, this was a time of great prosperity for the dwarfs,”
Beraut continued. “It was also when Madumda first gained
his immense powers and was establishing himself at Treblanc.
While the Dark Lord was becoming comfortable in his new position, the
dwarfs of Thorley were preparing for their Festival of Thanksgiving.
This event was held every year after the fields had been gleaned, on
the night of the Harvest Moon. On this festive occasion, the
village was, as always at this time of the year, filled to
overflowing with visitors from all over Tarolia and beyond.
Men, elves, dwarfs and even gnomes came to enjoy this festival.
It was considered one of the best celebrations of the year.”

“I
remember hearing tales about this event from my elders and some
others. The people that attended spoke very highly of the
festivities,” Doenilio interjected.

He failed
to realize that Beraut wanted to finish giving this information as
quickly as he could and not be interrupted. Once Beraut
casually cleared his throat though, Doenilio quickly acknowledged his
faux pas and sat quietly, so Beraut could continue.

“This
particular year was to be no exception,” the wizard went on.
“During the three days prior to when the festival was scheduled
to begin, strangers began pouring into Thorley. They
immediately sought lodgings and started partaking in a little
pre-festival merrymaking. However, they were just getting
warmed up for what was yet to come.

“When
the first night of the celebration arrived, the activities officially
got under way. There were booths and bazaars set up on both
sides of the main thoroughfare, as well as along many of the side
streets. They featured games, activities and every kind of
entertainment imaginable. There were also stalls that
sold all varieties of food, drink and crafts, as well as those where
the merchants could barter for the other’s goods. It was
on this night, one of the most joyous days of the year, when Madumda
struck a devastating and horrific blow.

“From
his stronghold, Madumda conjured up a spell that summoned the Specter
of Death. Then, he ordered that deadly and remorseless
apparition to perform a task of such enormity that it would forever
live in the annals of Tarolian history. That evening, the Dark
Lord sent this grim reaper from Treblanc and into Peaceful Vale.
Once there, it slid over the land, at the height of the merriment,
and slaughtered everyone and everything in its path. By the
following morning, every living plant and animal that had been in
that lush, emerald valley was dead. From the plentiful
vegetation and animals, which included the insects and every other
creature up to and including the large hordes of people, all of it
had been destroyed.”

“I’m
sure it did,” the wizard acknowledged, before proceeding
again. “Bodies were strewn over the entire area and lay
exactly where they had fallen. However, their souls were now
bound to the land and condemned to haunt the area until justice could
be exacted against Madumda and their deaths avenged. This, and
only this, will allow their spirits to be released from their current
torment and sent to their eternal rest.”

Beraut
paused momentarily and scanned the faces of his audience, to see if
they were beginning to understand and anticipate what was coming
next. When the wizard focused on Kieren, he could see the
tension that had built up in the youth’s slender body.
The lad’s muscles had tensed in response to what he had heard
and Kieren’s face was now quite red. This was due to the
excessive amount of blood his racing heart was pumping throughout his
body. This was a direct result of the information he’d
just heard and little beads of perspiration were collecting on his
forehead. He was also visibly grinding his teeth together, as
an unconscious expression of his fury. Fortunately, this was
directed at Madumda because of what he’d done and not at his
two friends.

Beraut
was concerned his ward was taking this information too personally,
but he also understood how strongly Kieren could identify with
certain situations. During the time he had known the lad, he
had seen this for himself. For that reason, the wizard merely
assumed this was another of those times and opted not to embarrass
the youngster by saying anything to him about it in front of the
others. Instead, Beraut chose to ignore how the teen was
responding for now, unless his actions grew worse. The wizard
might have reacted differently though, if he had also known about
what was going on between Kieren and his mates.

At this
point, the silence in the hall was deafening and the tension so thick
it could be cut with a knife. Everyone was deeply troubled by
this tale, but Beraut knew he must continue telling it.

“It
has been many, many years since this foul deed took place and
throughout that time those restless souls have continued to drift
across Peaceful Vale, while emitting their cries of anguish.
Those restless spirits wail in despair, as they seek revenge for what
was done to them. This place has now been appropriately renamed
the Valley of the Dead. Anyone who tries to cross this accursed
place is soon driven insane by the wails of those souls begging for
justice.

“You
may wonder why I am telling you this tale of horror,” the
wizard continued, “and rightfully so. I am trying to
prepare you for something no man has the right to request of
another. I am asking you to travel with me through this haunted
place, as we make our way to your final destination.”

Without
exception, expressions of concern, disbelief and even fright were now
registering on the faces of the companions. They were shocked
by this pronouncement and unable to accept the magnitude of what the
wizard had just told them. How could Beraut possibly ask them
to journey through this haunted realm, especially after he had just
told them that doing so would drive them insane?

“I
feel we must pass through this area and I will explain why,”
Beraut offered, before anyone could object. It was his attempt
to answer their unspoken questions and convince them this was
necessary.

“The
reason I chose this route is because it is the last one the Dark Lord
would expect us to take and, therefore, the one that will be least
watched. It is therefore the path that will most likely help us
gain admittance into Treblanc without being detected.”

As the
wizard scanned the faces of those before him, he quickly noted the
expressions of uncertainty he saw staring back at him. For this
reason, he decided he must assuage their fears.

“Of
course, I will help to protect you from the effects of the maddening
wails as we do this, for I would not allow any of you to be harmed
needlessly. Our goal is far too important to risk through
foolishness.”

The
companions began to glance furtively from one face to another, while
trying to gage each other’s reaction. Beraut had paused
briefly, to give this information time to sink in, but before he
thought they’d had sufficient time to do so, Kieren broke the
silence.

“So
we HAVE to do this?” he choked out, voicing everyone’s
concern.

“I
believe it is our best option,” his mentor responded in a
soothing voice. “It is, therefore, something I feel we
must do.”

“But
what about Qaim?” Kieren asked next. “Are we taking
him with us? If not, what’s going to happen to him now?”

“Actually,
I think he may be the answer to the dilemma I spoke to you about
earlier, shortly after you first arrived,” the wizard advised
him. “If Qaim is willing to go with you, then I think it
would be to your advantage. I believe his skills might come in
handy and would serve you well.”

Although
Kieren wasn’t certain what the wizard was referring to, he was
relieved to know that Qaim wasn’t going to be left to fend for
himself. Now, Beraut studied the aignx for a few seconds before
continuing.

“What
say you, Qaim? Do you wish to join the others on this task?”

Qaim
didn't even have to stop to think about this. He didn't want to
go back to living alone in Briarwood with the beasties and the teen
had been nice to him, so why wouldn't he want to go with Kieren?
He didn't even take time to consider this endeavor might be
dangerous.

“Yes,
Qaim wish to go with young master,” the aignx replied.

Hearing
the aignx’s response brought a smile to the aged wizard’s
face. Having received this confirmation, he continued.

“Then
it is agreed. It is now time for us to begin our journey, so if
you will all follow me, we shall depart from the dwarfs’ realm
and their generous hospitality. You will be able to pick up
your other belongings along the way.”

Everyone
rose from his seat and bid the dwarf king and queen an appropriate
farewell at the door, before leaving the hall. However, they
were still uncertain about what they were expected to do next.

As the
others began to move toward the doorway leading out of the dining
hall, Romaric held back and remained in his seat at the table.
Garreth didn’t notice this at first and got up to leave, but
once he was near the doorway, he turned around and saw that Romaric
hadn’t followed him. When he realized this, he went back
to see why his friend had stayed behind.

“What
are you doing?” Garreth asked.

“I’ve
decided I don’t want to go the rest of the way,” Romaric
told him, quite bluntly. “Kieren doesn’t seem to
need us any longer, and since he has pointed out that we don’t
need to constantly be together, I’ve decided to remain here.”

Garreth
hadn’t considered this before, so he looked at Romaric, to see
if he could sense if his friend was being sincere. As their
eyes met, Garreth could tell Romaric was deadly serious. It
then only took him a few seconds more to decide what he was going to
do. Quietly, he took a seat next to Romaric.

“Well,
if you’re not going, then neither am I,” he stated, as a
way to console his mate.

When
Beraut noticed the two younger elves weren’t with them, he went
back into the chamber to find out what was wrong. The wizard
was somewhat surprised and miffed when he discovered the pair were
still seated at the table, so he walked over and confronted them.

“We
have to get going now, so you two had better hurry up,” he
advised them.

“Would
you mind if we just decided to stay here?” Romaric asked in
response, which profoundly baffled the wizard.

“You
mean you don’t plan to continue on with Kieren?” he
wondered, since he wasn’t able to comprehend why they were
doing this.

“No!”
Romaric answered resolutely, while Garreth merely sat next to him
looking utterly dejected. “We’ll just stay here, if
it’s not a problem.”

Beraut
knew there was more going on here than what met the eye and suspected
it had something to do with what he noticed the previous evening,
when he checked in on Kieren. The thing was, he didn’t
know if he had time to unravel the problem before they had to leave.

“Are
you sure this is what you want to do?” the wizard asked once
again, but this time Garreth and Romaric merely looked up and nodded
in reply.

* * *
* * *
* *

I
wish to extend my thanksto
Scott, Emoe57, Andy, John and Donny for editing or their suggestions
with this story.

E-mail responses to the stories, story
suggestions, or other ‘constructive’ comments or advice
may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com
- but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn’t
get deleted as junk mail.

My other stories can be found at:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/frauthors.html